The Italian Almanac

Naked News

Canada's longest-running Web show Naked News arrived in Italy as one of the programme's four young Italian women read out a news item before removing an item of clothing. The self-styled Show That Has Nothing To Hide, invented in 2000 in Toronto and popular in dozens of countries, offers female 'newsreaders' who disrobe after every report until they're in the buff.

The Italian version hit the Web as 25-year-old Michela Fiore began her stint of reading and stripping. Interviewed before the show, she told reporters: ''I find it a very interesting job which will undoubtedly contribute to my professional development. I also hope it will bring in other offers as a presenter,'' said Fiore, who is three exams away from an economics degree. Fiore will rotate with three other Italian anchors between the ages of 22 and 27, picked from 100 applicants.

Naked News International CEO Marco Ottolini stressed: ''This isn't really a news programme, just entertainment. We don't have reporters but just staffers who pick out light and frothy pieces. I'm bored by Italian politics and viewers are bored by it too''. Nakednews is online at www.nakednews.it and can also be accessed by video phone. Ottolini said its target was 50,000 Web subscriptions by the end of the year and ''something a bit higher for cellphones''. It is also in talks to get onto Italian satellite TV.